NEPAL

Approximately 77 voter turnout was witnessed in the third phase of local elections in Province 2, according to the Election Commission (EC).
The polls took place in eight districts of the province for 136 local... More

China and Nepal have agreed to start technical works to build a cross-border railway link via Tibet to boost connectivity, according to Nepalese Foreign Ministry.
This was decided during the recent visit of Nepalese Deputy... More

US President Donald J. Trump has congratulated Nepali people and expressed best wishes on the occasion of Nepal’s Constitution Day that is marked on September 19.
In a message sent to Nepali President Bidhya Devi... More

With just three days away for the last leg of local level elections, the Election Commission on Friday directed the security agencies to beef up security along the Nepal-India border.
Chief Election Commission Ayodhee Prasad... More

The election of the new Nepali president and vice president is proposed within a month after the election of the new federal parliament and provincial assemblies scheduled for the end of this year.
The government... More

Nepal is confident that there will be no action from China to hurt its citizens, the country's Ambassador Deep Kumar Upadhyay said on Wednesday, while terming its ties with India as "incomparable".
Upadhyay said he... More

Increasing global warming caused by greenhouse effect and its subsequent impact has posed a grave threat to the Nepal’s mountain ranges, experts said.
They stressed the need of taking timely interventions to minimise the impact... More

Election Commission has made public the election timetable for Provincial Assembly and House of Representatives on Monday.
A meeting convened under the chairmanship of EC Chief Commissioner Ayodhee Prasad Yadav in the Capital today approved... More

Nepali Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Krishna Bahadur Mahara has urged Chinese business community to invest in infrastructure sector in Nepal, as environment conducive to investment has been created in the... More

South Asian Women Development Forum is organising a two day event “Across Barriers-International Business Women’s Summit” on September 11 in the Capital to develop partnerships between entrepreneurs from Saarc, Asean regions and China.
Nearly 80... More

Despite Nepal’s repeated commitments to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a sense of uncertainty and skepticism persists among Chinese officials.
Chinese think tanks and government officials during an interaction with a delegation of Nepali... More

Sep 7, 2017-Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Krishna Bahadur Mahara, who is on a six-day visit to China, held a meeting with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang at the latter’s office... More

Nepali Rastriya Prajatantra Party (Democratic) leader Dipak Bohora, whose involvement in the corruption involving the controversial land procurement deal made by the state-owned Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) was revealed recently, is set to become a... More

Senior CPN-UML leader Bhim Rawal has criticized the government over “preparations on the sly” by the government and Indian officials to carry out field survey for laying cross-border natural gas pipeline without consulting the... More

The main opposition CPN (UML) has claimed first position in the upcoming third phase of local polls taking place in Province No-2 slated for September 18.
The claim was made at a press briefing in... More

Investment Board Nepal (IBN) and Hongshi-Shivam Cement Private Limited, a Nepal-China joint venture company, signed Project Investment Agreement (PIA) on Sunday to set up a mega cement factory in Nepal.
The agreement is the first... More

Nepal will sign an agreement with the US government on September 14 to secure a grant of $500 million (approximately Rs51.5 billion) for construction of transmission lines and maintenance of various road sections.
A Nepali... More

India and Nepal on Sunday began their joint military exercise in the western part of the Himalayan country, focusing on counter-terrorism and forest fighting operations.
The exercise - Surya Kiran - was being participated by... More

The Election Commission (EC) has sought clarification from CPN-UML senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal for breaching the election code of conduct.
The election body asked clarification from Nepal, who is also a former Prime Minister,... More

Rearing yaks is very important in Nepal’s mountainous regions where animal husbandry is one of the main sources of income.
The shaggy haired Himalayan animal provides milk, meat and fur. What’s more, yaks carry loads and... More

On Feb 13 at about 1210 hours an armoured cash-in-transit (CIT) vehicle of a private security services company was parked outside the Tarnol branch of Meezan Bank in Islamabad to pick up cash amounting to Rs. 14 million from the bank . As the two security guards, Supervisor Muhammad... More

The Oxfam infection has spread far and wide. Its impact is deeper than just one NGO facing problems about covering up sex abuse in Haiti and as we learn Chad as well. Now reports are saying that sexual abuse cases are routine in the international development world which till... More

Despite its reservations about the Abdulla Yameen regime in the Maldives, India does not appear to be responding to the call of the Maldivian opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed to initiate a “military-backed diplomatic initiative” to force Yameen to retract from his drastic actions against the judiciary.
According to the Maldivian... More

While the US continues to do drone attacks in Pakistan, the diplomat spat between them hasn’t ended. On the contrary it seems to be widening as Pakistan continues its drift away from the US towards China and Russia.
The gap is undoubtedly widening between the two erstwhile allies. While the... More

Sentencing BNP chief Begum Khaleda Zia to 5 years in jail triggers a fresh confrontational phase in Bangladesh politics, already deluged by hostility. It also makes the election, scheduled for December 2018, considerably uncertain about inclusive participation. Bangladesh’s experience with electoral politics has been miserable since birth and with... More

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, exudes confidence. I visited Dhaka for the first time in April 1972, within four months of the birth of Bangladesh. Dhaka, then pronounced Dacca, was a small town, desperately trying to accommodate the demands of a sovereign state. There is no doubt that the... More

The West’s notions of history and geography between Europe and Asia, are drenched in myriad cultural implications and can be traced back to ‘The Romance of Alexander’.
This is a collection of essays mixing truth, epic drama and mythology, composed between the death of Alexander The Great in 323 B.C.,... More

Referred to as an interminable and protracted war, the ongoing US-led war in Afghanistan is becoming a stalemate with no end in sight in the near or long term. Since the violence and bloodshed have been the most common phenomenon in an already war-torn region, the war is perhaps... More

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an aggressive reachout to farmers and the poor in the new Budget, but analysts say it remains to be seen if this course correction will work.
They say it hinges on whether the government will be able to implement the schemes. It also... More

Just a few days ago I warned two young student leaders in Darjeeling of West Bengal, against the violent movement which has started there for a separate Gorkhaland. I told them in no way should they support this demand. This has multifarious geo-political risks. If a Gorkhaland state is... More

South Asian Monitor is a flagship organization of Media Watch. It monitors political, economic, cultural, social and strategic developments of the South Asian region. Prominent writers, columnists, media persons and analysts of South Asia contribute in-depth reports, analyses, features and columns here ... More